travels with tam Archives | TRAVELS WITH TAM

Not the Midlife journey I was expecting….

August 12, 2013 By Tam Warner 37 Comments

transplant, unexpected transplant — Randy with Ally and Wes, our childen

Hey, who ever gets what they expect? In my life, the unexpected is most usually the rule. Right now, the unexpected is beyond comprehension. 3 years ago, my husband, Randy, was “diagnosed” with Sarcoidosis. He was told it would probably resolve on its own, no treatment necessary. Even though he continued to get worse, no treatment was recommended, and no further testing (to make sure there wasn’t something else going on) was done. What is sarcoidosis? “Sarcoidosis of the lung is primarily an interstitial lung disease in which the inflammatory process involves the alveoli, small bronchi, and small blood vessels.” It is not caused by smoking. It’s cause is basically unknown. Only 10% of those diagnosed with the disease develop a serious presentation. Randy’s condition is becoming serious.

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Shark Week

August 11, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

May 20, 2012

Back in Tofo after a LONG and bumpy ride back in a van that rides rougher than a go-cart! Ouch.

Of course, in the 2 days I was gone a whale shark was spotted on a dive, a tiger shark, and a gray reef shark. Apparently the strong currents bring them in. Of course, the flip side is that the visability was 4 meters (12 feet). To see a tiger shark within 12 feet would be a harrowing experience I think, but often when you are afraid of something, if you dive with it once, you feel fine about it. I actually jumped in the water the other day when we sighted a Hammerhead Shark. Sadly, I didn’t really see it. I’ve always wanted to see one. So I am unsure about the way the rest of the week will play out. Of course I want to see things and dive, but it is all so difficult when it is calm so I can’t imagine it choppy. Of course the first day or two I dove it was fairly choppy, but I have my “diving fins” now (as opposed to sea legs, haha) so it will probably be better. There is an Indian ocean website called windguru, and winds are rated from calm to storms, and they don’t dive if it is too windy. We’ll just have to play it by ear.

I just did a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (personality “test”) on Patty, and she turned out to be exactly my guess: ISTJ, the Inspector! LOL. She’s awesome, and she laughed through it as it is completely accurate. I really like most everyone in the house though I know some better than others. It has really been enjoyable, getting to know them all. Patty is an American, from San Francisco, one of my very favorite cities. I’ve been giving my housemates the MBTI, with interesting results. So far we have an ISTJ, 2 ESFJ’s, an INTP (Cooper, your type!), and myself, an INFP. Rather an interesting collection of people. And Yay! I have a reason to go to San Francisco now! And I have reasons to go to London, Zurich, and Munich…and the Seychelles…and………just resting up for the week and getting ready for what it will bring!

May 21

Knocked on the head by a Great White Shark!

The big event today was a non-event….nothing on the ocean safari. Two whale sharks have been sighted at Barra Point, so we are going to head that direction tomorrow. Also, four Great Whites have been sighted not far from here, apparently it is unusual to see them in these waters. After my last experience with one I can’t say I’m anxious to meet one in open water, the cage was rather helpful last time! Today it rained, and it is cold for the first time since I’ve been here. Chilly. It will be cold on the water tomorrow. The water temperature has dropped 4 degrees since I’ve been in Tofo, so winter is coming (Stark words). Rain and wind shut down the power here in Tofo, so we’ve been without power a few times today.

An observation: The car ride to and from Vilanculas was the first time I’ve really had time to think since I’ve been here. It is always so busy with dives, data entry, ocean safaris, or people in and out, there is no time for reflection. I did have a few introspective moments during the 8 hour round trip car ride….watching the people on the roads and seeing the villages where they live. People in town do seem to live a bit better, and there is the occasional stucco or brick house, but for the most part, these people have nothing in a material sense. Their huts are not as big as our living room, made of palm fronds woven tightly to keep out the rain. Most of their time seems to be spent outside of the huts, under a shade tree, or around a fire cooking. Water is brought from wells. Today is Sunday and there were people all over the roads, in their Sunday clothes, headed from or to church. I feel certain it is a major socializing event, much like the market where they sell goods if they are close enough to town. Their reality is harsh, and their needs simple: survive, feed yourself and your family, have babies, and die young. I’ve heard it is estimated that one in five in Mozambique are HIV positive. I couldn’t survive a week in their world, I feel sure I would die of some infection or virus pretty quickly given the water and unsanitary conditions. One of the million chickens walking around would give me bird flu. It is a lesson in appreciating the things that you do have….running water, electricity, clean water (relatively)….it is disturbing to see how poor the people are here, and I realize, what do I have to complain about?

Villancula on a shoestring

August 4, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

Vilancula on a shoestring. It took from 9a until 2p to get here, we are staying at a backpackers hostel. Not exactly what I am used to….but for two nights I can survive. We stopped on the way for a picnic where Ben found a chameleon. Everyone photographed it repeatedly. THEN Ben spotted a green tree snake. I said, I think that snake is venomous, but they said it was not. Photos again! Then Felix checked it on his iphone…and yes, it is a very poisonous snake whose bite can be fatal. I’m grateful no one grabbed it. Right now I am in the “restaurant” of the backpackers, and a momma dog has 9 pups in here. They are so cute, but life is too tough here for these poor dogs. People cannot take care of themselves let alone animals.

Back from snorkeling. Apparently, they do not know what clear visability is in Mozambique. Oh well, it was an interesting trip over on a wooden boat that looked a hundred years old, and it had a campfire on it to cook on. The mast was made of wood…and I mean, it used to be a tree. I actually fell up and into the boat. Yes, it is possible to do. It is all very primitive, and a fascinating study. Overall, I would say the trip really wasn’t worth the trouble it took to get here, but it is an experience. I have never traveled this way, staying at backpackers in a closet like room with 4 bunkbeds and no hot water in the shower. We did ask about hot water…and they brought us water in a bucket that had been boiled. As I said, I have never traveled in this manner before, and I am keeping my mouth shut and just going with the flow. I don’t want to be the American bitch who complains about everything, so I choose to be amused instead. After all, I am learning a new culture, new way of diving, new way of living and eating, and getting to know new people. Overall, a great experience for me. Very eye opening in many respects. Absolutely no regrets.

Bazaruto with Ben, Marcel and "Messiah" — Bazaruto with Ben, Marcel and “Messiah”

I thought the poverty in Mexico was bad….it is as bad as the worst poverty in Mexico. People live in huts with no running water, no electricity, no easy access to medical care or the ability to travel very far. For the very poor, life is extremely hard in Mozambique, and it is no wonder the life expectancy is mid-forties here. You see very few old people. It is difficult to put what I am seeing into words, and I hesitate to take photos…I don’t want to make them feel like their poverty is worth taking photos of. It is distressing, and certainly I feel like I am roughing it, but I am living like royalty in comparison. I would not survive this kind of poverty, I am sure I would never have made it past 2 years old. One’s immune system has to be iron here.

My luxury suite at the "backpackers" — My luxury suite at the “backpackers”

Tomorrow it is the long drive back to Tofo, then a “work” week ahead I’m going to go on the ocean safaris and do the dives required, but I doubt I will do extra diving. There is abundant life on the reefs, amazing life, but I am a bit disappointed that in nearly 2 weeks I have yet to see a whale shark, and have seen only two mantas, and no mantas on dives. Hopefully there will be something next week. Mantas used to be abundant here, but with a population that is down 87% in 10 years, they are not abundant anymore. I don’t think Randy will like the diving….it is much harder than the California diving we did, and he did not enjoy that. I can hear “this is bullshit”, a famous Randy phrase. It would be worth it if there were mantas on every dive, but as I said, I’ve been diving every day for a week and I’ve seen nada. The weather is supposed to turn bad next week, and I have decided that if it is really rough on the ocean I will not dive. I can only imagine how difficult it would be in bad weather, but I don’t think I will take the chance to find out. Hopefully, it will remain nice and calm (for here). Time for bed…or should I say board? The mattress is less than 5 inches thick, and a damned rooster crows from about 4a until 8a. I might decide to eat chicken if I stayed here much longer! Yes, a new experience for Tam!

Last Night in Cozumel

July 30, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

It has been quite a trip! The first week my cousin Kathy came to dive with me, followed by the boys, my son Wes and his musketeers Cooper and Charlie, followed by fellow volunteers from my trip to Mozambique last year, Felix, Marcel and Daniela, and last but not least, my daughter, Alexandra.

It has been fun, but exhausting! I was constantly in the water.

Randy and I spent our last evening at Primas, one of our favorite restaurants in Cozumel. It overlooks the ocean and is on the top floor of a condo complex. Primas used to be one of the most popular restaurants in Cozumel, located on the town plaza. It moved five years ago or so. Most of the waiters are still there, but we sadly discovered that the former maitre d, Juan Carlos, passed away recently. He was only in his 40s, far too young to die of a heart attack. Matteo is our buddy at Primas, he brings us our drinks, and certainly knows my dinner order, every time we walk in. What was the Cheers saying, where everyone knows your name? Well, they certainly know our drinks and food.

We enjoyed dinner with Mark and Lyn, our next door neighbors, and our new Cozumel attorney and his wife, at La Cocay on Calle Ocho. La Cocay has the best food on the island, bar none. The meal was so enjoyable, Felipe and Maria are from Merida and love Cozumel, and their company was delightful. Maria was fun to talk with, she certainly has a mind of her own, an admirable quality in my estimation. Felipe told us stories of the Yucatan’s history, and it was fascinating! Apparently, the Yucatan (like Texas) was its own country for quite a while. In the 1840’s Mexico tried to conquer the Yucatan, so the Mayan workers (much like slaves in America) were armed, and Mexico was defeated. The Mayans were tired of their treatment and wanted their freedom, so they made a deal with Mexico: Yucatan would become a part of Mexico if they would help the Mayans gain independence and better conditions. Many of the Yucatan’s leading families were murdered, and the Yucatan went back to Mexico. This was 15 or 20 years before our Civil War. Interesting, right?

I confess myself ready to go home, which is strange for me. It will be a full house: my daughter has moved back home for a while in order to save up to buy her own place, and my son and his girlfriend are planning to move to Austin, but first, they will stay with us. Wes just graduated college, so they are coming to us from California with their dog, Layla, and cat, Gibson (can you tell my son is a guitarist?) to join our two dogs, Luke and Lucy, and our daughter’s dog Remy, and her two cats, Strider and Bella. A zoo, right? Absolutely! I’m looking forward to it, though. It will be far from dull. It will probably be the last time the four of us live under the same roof. They leave the nest, but they do come back to visit!

Well, we received our First Class upgrades on our flights (travel hint: travel mid week if you want to be upgraded!), but though I have worked like crazy today, there is still packing to do in the morning. See you stateside!

My best dives in Cozumel!

July 25, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

Seriously, Seriously! Really? Really. I think I just had the best dives I’ve ever had on Cozumel. Thank you, We-B-Divin-Cozumel and the best dive master, Yasser Rosado! My daughter came into Cozumel, and she hadn’t been diving in two years. Off we went to Palancar Caves, and Cedar Pass, her LEAST favorite dives on the island. Allycat really does not care for too much current, and Cedar Pass is usually a high current dive. Yasser knows we don’t like going through the “swim throughs” at Palancar Caves, so we stayed above the corals…and we are so glad we did! We sighted 2 Black Tip Reef Sharks above us! They were small, and darting around the top of the reef. I took video of them, they were just a little too far away to take photos. We saw them several times on the dive, always above us. During the next part of the dive I sighted a glorious Eagle Ray across the reef, and began swimming toward it. I was ready with video because usually Eagle Rays see divers and head the other direction, but this one just kept on coming and kept on chewing whatever it was it was eating, and I ended up swimming right next to it for a bit. They are so incredibly beautiful, with beautiful wide wings with Cheerio shapes, and a long, beautiful tail. What a gift, just to be with it for a little while.

We also saw two big Green Moray eels, and one of them was sleeping! Kind of spooky, they look dead lying there with their eyes open.

A nurse shark made an appearance, as did turtles who were awake! Also, Southern Stingrays. Really, just incredible, wonderful, perfect dives at Palancar Caves and Cedar Pass. Cozumel is generally what I term, “relaxation diving”. Yes, all dives are drift dives and sometimes the current can be a little strong, but for the most part, the dives are easy going, with incredible visibility (100 ft plus) with gorgeous coral, tons of fish, and some exciting animals once in a while. It is not challenging diving (very rarely, anyway), and in 20 years I never saw any shark except Nurse Sharks (though last year we did see a Black Tip Reef Shark’s head with no body floating around). Pilot Whales and False Killer Whales made a one day appearance last year as well. No humpbacks, whale sharks or Manta Rays. It is always a true pleasure to dive Cozumel, but if you are looking for big Pelagic action, this is not the place to look for it.

The follow up to these dives were the next day, when I took photos of a family posing with a large-ish Hawksbill turtle. Rays, sharks, eels….great dives. Francesa and Santa Rosa Shallows never fail to delight with its variance of color, fish, and animals. Not to mention all the cool little things like shrimps, Christmas Tree Worms, Fireworms….you could spend forever under the ocean and never get bored.

Never been diving in Cozumel? THAT is something you should rectify immediately! Check out Villa Coronado!/

More Tofo Volunteers Arrive in Cozumel!

July 23, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

Marcel and Daniela arrived from Cancun around lunch, as we had a night dive planned. It was so wonderful to see Marcel and Daniela! It seems like no time has passed at all since our time in Tofo a year ago. Randy and I took everyone to the other side of the island for a drink. We were all excited for the night dive, it was Felix’s first, and Daniela and Marcel’s second (but they said their first night dive was not a big deal). Felix was a bit on the nervous side, but that is completely normal. We got to the boat, a 35 foot luxury liner compared to the zodiac in Tofo, where we were briefed, and we descended during twilight. It is best to do a night dive with beginners at sundown, the darkness comes on gradually, almost unnoticed, and it eases them into the experience. Night brings out different fish, different animals, and I so very much wanted them to see an octopus.

It would be really unusual for one to do a night dive in Cozumel and not see an octopus, but hey, you never know. I was worried during the dive until we spotted that first octopus, then ahhhhhh….I relaxed and enjoyed the next 5 octopi! Huge crabs, eels, open corals, lobsters, brittle stars…night diving is wonderful. And the colors are amazing! Using lights really shows the beauty and color of the reef and the corals. Just gorgeous. They LOVED the night dive (of course!). Afterward, we went to the Money Bar to eat. Diving makes one hungry!

The next morning Felix left us for Cancun and home to London…he starts an internship next week, so…holiday time is over for now for him! But 3 weeks in Mexico was a great way to celebrate his graduation! On the way home from dropping him off at the ferry Marcel wanted to know if we could do another night dive! Sure! I’m always up for a night dive! So the three of us went again, and had another great dive. There were several first timers on the boat for the night dive, so there was nervous energy down below.

Everything went well, though. Home to bed for our early morning dive adventure!

Off we went the next morning to Punta Palancar and El Paso de Cedral. Diving with us were Carol and Brian. Brian is a quadriplegic, and still is able to dive. He was a Salvage Diver in the Air Force, and I thanked him for his service. I don’t know if that is how he was hurt, but salvage diving can be quite dangerous. After they “gear” him up, the dive master on the boat holds Brian’s tank and that is how he dives. I am full of admiration for him…he and his wife are obviously strong minded individuals.

The dives were beautiful….we saw turtles and groupers and giant parrotfishes and eels and a nurse shark….very beautiful dives. We went to dinner with my husband and daughter, Ally, and our next door Cozumel neighbors, Lyn and Mark.

It was a fabulous meal in great company. We very much enjoyed it.

Alas, all wonderful things have an end, and Marcel and Daniela headed out this morning for Cancun to Philadelphia, then Daniela home to Munich and Marcel home to Zurich. It was so natural to be together, as though no time had passed. We discussed doing another volunteer trip together…maybe to Thailand. We will try to make that work! It meant so much to me that they came to Cozumel to visit me this summer…we had a very strong group in Tofo, and I feel connected to all of them. Living in the same house with people for weeks does tend to create bonds of affection, and I am very fond of Felix, Marcel, and Dani. Hasta Luego, mi amigos!

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